Main Area and Open Discussion > General Software Discussion
What the hell is OpenCandy?
Eóin:
Well I gotta say this is all rather above board to me. Ads are everywhere, I see no real difference between an ad in the installer and one on the download page.
I also don't quite see Kartals position on installers, if the developer chooses to use OpenCandy even when an archive would have sufficed for distribution then that is the developers choice. I don't see where the issue with OpenCandy. Kartal you seem to be suggesting that that there is something inherently wrong in advertising in general. You also seem to be using the words spam and ads interchangeably which they certainly are not.
drapps:
I have a question that needs clarification, if another developer wants to recommend an application through OpenCandy, without that developer being an OpenCandy member, can he do that?
In other words, if I were an OpenCandy member and wanted to recommend one of mouser's apps in the installer of one of mine, and he wasn't a member, could I do that?
-app103 (May 13, 2009, 09:33 PM)
--- End quote ---
@app103 (Sorry I went to bed right before you posted that last night.)
Yes, you could. But we think the right thing to do is for you (as a publisher) is to ask permission from the developer(s) whose software you want to recommend -- if that developer doesn't already participate in the OpenCandy network. In addition, the EULA of the software being recommended must allow the distribution of its installer.
RE: Installers vs. Zip
Many open source projects offer installer and installer-less builds of their software.
The link I posted above to MediaInfo's site mentions how its developer still offers a zip file for people that want to download and install MediaInfo without seeing an OpenCandy recommendation (though this could also be accomplished by blocking internet connectivity of the installer version). We don't force any developer recommending software via OpenCandy to abandon their zip installers (if they have them). They are free to do whatever they want. If they want to recommend software using OpenCandy, yes, they can only do it via an installer platform we support (currently that's NSIS, Inno or Installshield), but they are still free to offer any installer (zip or otherwise) with or without OpenCandy included if they choose to do so.
Hope that helps. :)
Dr. Apps
Software Community Guru
OpenCandy
http://twitter.com/drapps
40hz:
Just out of curiosity, what made the developers decide to use the word "open" as part of the product name? I'm curious since doing so usually makes people think such products are GPL/FOSS applications.
:)
I'm also a little puzzled by this comment you made:
I didn’t expect to wake up this morning to a Google Alert about OpenCandy being raked over the proverbial coals.
--- End quote ---
It seems to me that running an early warning system such as this indicates that there has been serious concern on the part OpenCandy about negative comments to the extent that "Big Brother Google" is being used to seek out and monitor them. I think this says quite a bit about the mindset of the company.
I'd also take issue with your characterization of some of the early posts on this topic as: OpenCandy being raked over the proverbial coals. To my way of thinking, that comment seems to display a rather defensive attitude on the part of OpenCandy.
Which leads me to this question: How much negative pushback are you getting with this? Since you're monitoring via Google, I'd guess you'd have some very solid statistics you could share with us on on that topic beyond the usual "overall response has been very positive" PR boilerplate.
app103:
Yes, you could. But we think the right thing to do is for you (as a publisher) is to ask permission from the developer(s) whose software you want to recommend -- if that developer doesn't already participate in the OpenCandy network. In addition, the EULA of the software being recommended must allow the distribution of its installer.
-drapps (May 14, 2009, 08:43 AM)
--- End quote ---
So this isn't entirely opt-in from all angles, is it?
Where do I go to opt out, since I never want to see my software promoted in this manner.
mouser:
Where do I go to opt out, since I never want to see my software promoted in this manner.
--- End quote ---
I took it from Andrew's reply earlier, that your software can only be included by the developer if you're software allows such a thing (which pretty much should go without saying):
In addition, the EULA of the software being recommended must allow the distribution of its installer.
--- End quote ---
In other words -- if you don't want other people bundling/distributing it with theirs -- you just have to put that in your EULA/distribution terms on your web page, etc.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version